The Farm Notes

Au Illinois correspondent states that experience has taught him that cattle will thrive better on good, bright ftnx traw than on oat or wheat straw, and ie never knew of cattle being injured romeating it. In solecting potato seed tvvo things should bo kopt in mind; firat, plant only such seed as may bo expected to produce smooth, f air-sized potatoes; second, ilant only when the seed is in full vigor. It is said that in England a new use ias been d'scovered for damson plums. or pies than for dyes, it having been aseertained that a beautiful color can be obtained from the ripe fruit. If every farmer would keep a record of the number of eggs laid, chiekens ïatchcd, and those soul or eaten each rear, they would form the basis of most nteresting statistics, aDd be a matter of surprise to every on e as to the value rejresented by them in money. H. W. Starks says : ' 'I keep a cow for uilk, and the better I feed and care for lier more miiK i gct. i pour noi waier on the cut hay, and stir the hay well after putting on four quarts of cornmeal. ïhe ration I givc twice a day, with a little dry hay at noon. I do not waste a pound of hay all winter. My method keeps a cow in good order, and saves ncarly one-fourth the hay." In relation to linseed nieal for stock it may be stated that the quantity usually given for onc feeding deponds on the quality of the hay or other feed allowed, Straw requiring more imseeu meai mau clovcr hajr. It is fed sparingly at the beginning, gradually increasing the allowancc until a siifficiency is given with the coarser material to keep the cattle in gootl condition, as it can be used too lavishly. The only differeneo between the cake and meal is in the preparation, as the oil is generally extracted and the residum sold as cake or ground to a tino ondition. The wheat erop this year is unusuallj neavy, in many seuuons weigmiig sixuytwo to sixty-three pounds per measurei bushel. It is also what is called strong wheat. t'ic cxcess of gluten is heavier than starch. This lai'ge proportion o: ghiten and heavy wcight is probably the result of the nioist, cool weather as the wheat heads were forrning. It bas been noticed that the best wheat is always grown in cool seasons, and that it is more glutinous on low than on high gravelly soil. During the past surnmei there was moisture enough while whea was fllling to raake the highland feroj as good in quality as llie lowland. Colonel F. D. Curtis writes that tin White Belgian carrots yield twice as much as the Long Orange, and he re gards them as equally nutritious. This is doubtful, as in numeróus experiments larger roots of the same variety contain proportionately less sugar and nutri ment than small ones. The White Bel gian carrot is not saleable in the mark et, 'while the Long Orange will nearly every year sell for more than its feeding value, except to be used as an appetizer When carrots canbe sold by the waggon load at 40 to 50 cents per bushei, anc retail at 30 cents per half bushei, the price goes far bcyond their feeding value. At these prices no erop eau b more profitably grown near a goo( market. The tempering of the cream is one o the most important oporations in but ter-niaking. This is especially true in cold weather. The different parts of cream are affected diiïerently by heat. A can of cream may be placed in a kettle of hot water and heated till the thermometer mdicates 62 to (!ö degreea without having heated the butler globules in the cream at all. This will no ordinarily be the case, it. is true, bul i is liable to be, and it is approximately so in all cases where the heating is rapid. Cream should be kept warm for several hours befoie churning, that i may 'beeome warmed thcough. ()r, i it is necessary totemper it hastily, it should be raised considerably abóve th churning temperatura and suffercd t f all back, whieh it will do in a shor time.- Brecders' Live Stock Journal. Breed Up. If a common cow has the marks of good milker it is wisdom to breed fron her. Whethor or nol her calf will in It is riajht here that the valuó oí' irnprov ed stock is greatest. Its characteristic are fixod and will be reproduced. It i here, too, wliere the valué of a register ed peáigree is apparent. The fact tha a book c'ontains the briqf statement o the ancestors of :m animal is nothing o itsclf. But the fact that it tells that iln animal lias certainly come from a lonD line of ancestors whïon have regular!; transmitted their characteristics is ev erything, for it not only shows that th animal itself possesses the family characteristics to a greater or less degree, but that it in turn will be able to transmit them. The common cow may re produce herself, and she may not. Th pnrely-bived cow will reproduce hei self, witli possibly slight variation, un der proper breeding. It is too oftenth oase that the owners of, common cow get an erroneous impression when thei attention has been called to the desira bility of improving their herds. The; are convinced, perhaps, that it would b to their interest to breed vip, or rathe to improve the character of their herds but, thinking that the only way to d this is to purchase outright, they ma rAf fniil lilro íriMTurfntlin n'iiínap Snttl J-l._U ÍJJÍ 11IV wVJi-1-w ■■' 1A ViMVUyvi pv.-.w of the best cows in the country are crosses of our common stock witli the improved breeds, and if a man owns a common cow that has proved herself a valuable dairy animal he has excellent encouragoment to use her for crossing. It is every man's duty to breed up. It is throwing away money to keep an inferior animal when we can just as well liavc a better